


taking your hand (taking a shot)

by Irratia



Category: Julie and The Phantoms (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Tattoo Parlor, Asexual Bobby | Trevor Wilson, Drinking, F/M, Holding Hands, M/M, Pining, Swearing, funky fresh queer hijinks, mentions of ace willie, mentions of grey ace alex, reggie being incredibly infatuated with bobby, uuuhhhhhh i think thats most of it, yeee kinda that
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-03
Updated: 2021-02-03
Packaged: 2021-03-14 11:20:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,878
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29170242
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Irratia/pseuds/Irratia
Summary: He’s been thinking about getting another tattoo for a while, in addition to the stylized bouquet of his friend’s favourite flowers on his right bicep. Two dahlias for Julie, a tulip for Luke and some sprigs of lavender for Alex. Willie’s the one who tattooed him, and if he hadn’t seen Bobby Wilson elsewhere in the parlor he’d probably started crushing on him instead.But then Reggie decided he wanted to get a septum piercing and had gotten an appointment with Bobby and. Well. It’s not surprising to him that Alex and Willie got their shit together during Alex’s helix session. Not surprising at all. Because Bobby has this very calm aura about him, and very pretty eyes and his hair falls into his eyes just so, and his voice.Reggie could listen to him talk for hours, honestly.
Relationships: Alex Mercer/Willie (Julie and The Phantoms), Bobby | Trevor Wilson/Reggie Peters, Julie Molina/Luke Patterson
Comments: 21
Kudos: 144





	taking your hand (taking a shot)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [A_Tomb_With_A_View](https://archiveofourown.org/users/A_Tomb_With_A_View/gifts).



> Ayyyy it finally is 'the boggie fic'!!  
> This has given me grievance for like three weeks because writing the first 4.5 k took ages and was hard and yet, here we are. Boggie rights and all that  
> not really put technically a part 2 to [taking the chance (making a move)](https://archiveofourown.org/works/28282242)  
> Nicknames, grey ace Alex and ace Bobby inspired by meg because thats her brand and i'm joining it, ily  
> also i have never gotten a tattoo in my life because when i decided i wanted one the pandemic was there and parlours are closed, so yeet to accuracy  
> Hope you enjoy!

Reggie’s happy that Alex and Willie are finally together, he really is. He’s had to bear witness to the two of them dancing around each other for a good year, and seeing the both of them light up only hearing the other mentioned is cute, admittedly.

But that also means that he’s now the only one in Julie and the Phantoms who does not have a significant other, and honestly, as much as he loves his friends, it sucks sometimes.

Because now when they do movie nights there’s just enough space on their couch for five people, and Reggie feels somewhat left out, even if they cuddle with him, because he’s still alone on there. And it’s not like he doesn’t want to have a partner. The opposite actually, he really, really does, a specific one even.  
But Bobby Wilson isn’t going to like him back anytime soon, so.

Reggie groans and buries deeper into the mountain of pillows on his bed. He doesn’t even know what time it is, only that today is the day they’ll all get the matching tattoos, finally. It’s taken them almost two entire months to set up a date where all four of them and Willie are available, and it’s only because Willie decided to do a private session for all of them on the day they’re usually closed.

The morning light filters in through his window, and Reggie blindly grabs for his phone. The apartment is quiet so far, so it can’t be too late. 7:48 am, his screen tells him and he groans again. Once he’s awake he can’t fall back asleep, but it’ll be at least another hour until Alex wakes up and getting Luke out of bed before noon is almost impossible because he always stays up until 3 am. And Reggie isn’t technically allowed to do much when he’s the earliest awake. 

Apparently he is ‘too fucking loud’ and has no ‘common sense when it comes to doing things quietly’ as he found out three days after they officially moved in together and he’d made coffee at 7. Alex had been very tired and very grumpy until after his second cup of coffee, and Reggie has learned that staying in his room was smarter in order to not be stuck with their dishes for a week. Because honestly, Luke’s eating habits are quite frankly nothing but disgusting.

But still, Reggie is excited for today. He’s been thinking about getting another tattoo for a while, in addition to the stylized bouquet of his friend’s favourite flowers on his right bicep. Two dahlias for Julie, a tulip for Luke and some sprigs of lavender for Alex. Willie’s the one who tattooed him, and if he hadn’t seen Bobby Wilson elsewhere in the parlor he’d probably started crushing on him. 

But then Reggie decided he wanted to get a septum piercing and had gotten an appointment with Bobby and. Well. It’s not surprising to him that Alex and Willie got their shit together during Alex’s helix session. Not surprising at all. Because Bobby has this very calm aura about him, and very pretty eyes and his hair falls into his eyes just so, and his _voice_.

Reggie could listen to him talk for hours, honestly.

Somehow he also managed to get Bobby’s number, a few weeks later after he got his septum pierced, because he’d popped by the parlour to get second earlobe piercings, and Willie had been busy (with ogling at Alex as Reggie had found out half an hour later by deciding to pick him up from his shift). So Bobby had also done those, and they’d gotten to talking about music, and Reggie had talked about his band and Bobby had mentioned he also played the guitar. He’d somehow managed to dare ask whether Bobby would be up for a jamming session that was yet to happen, and Bobby had smirked and given him his number. 

They’ve been talking a lot, since. Texting almost everyday, really even if it's just a short message, and Reggie’s stalked Bobby’s Instagram a lot, so he knows he likes to do rock climbing and that he has a super nice singing voice and honestly it’s a crime against him that Carrie has never introduced her half brother to them. Not that he really has a shot with him, but then at least he’d have someone to pine after who isn’t an unattainable actor or actress, or pretty girl he saw at the grocery store or, well. Reggie tends to fall in love with people in a matter of seconds, not really in love, but he gets very infatuated with them. Very fast. It’s grounds for a lot of jokes from his boys, but he doesn’t mind. They’re right, after all. 

His door bursts open and Julie throws herself onto him. “You excited for today?” she asks, sounding like she’s smiling. He wouldn’t know, since his face is pressed into his pillow. He also regularly forgets she has keys to their apartment. He murmurs out an agreement into the pillow and hears her laugh. 

“Me too! I’m gonna wake up Luke and Alex, they love me enough to not kill me if you make coffee right now,” she presses a kiss onto his head and scrambles off of him before he can even agree. He hears the door to Luke’s room right next to his open, and the groan, as she presumably also throws herself onto her boyfriend. Reggie grins to himself when he hears Luke complain in the grovely voice he always has in the mornings as he picks himself up and out of bed and trudges into the kitchen.  
He’s halfway through brewing the big pot of coffee when Julie comes out of Luke’s room and blows him a kiss, before cracking Alex’s door open and peering in. Sometimes Willie sleeps over and she thinks him and Alex are too cute to attack as brutally as she does with the rest of them. He isn’t though, so she skips into the room and Reggie continues in the kitchen.

Both Alex and Luke emerge from their rooms at roughly the same time yawning and looking half dead, but accepting the steaming hot cups gratefully.

“I love you Jules, but I fucking hate you,” Alex grumbles. 

Julie pours herself a cup and grins. “Gotta make sure you three idiots are all clean and pretty for today.”

“We’re not children,” Luke says. Julie leans into his side and kisses his jaw then grins. “I wouldn’t be so sure about that.”

___

“Welcome, welcome,” Willie throws the door open with a wide grin and beckons them inside with a dramatic flourish.  
“Why thank you, kind sir,” Julie says, doing a curtsy. Willie tips an imaginary hat at her.  
“‘Sup,” Luke simply fistbumps Willie, pulled inside by Julie. Alex rolls his eyes at their antics but steps forward. “Hi.”

Willie’s grin morphs into something softer, and his focus immediately zeros in on Alex, like he’s the only person there. “Hey.”

Reggie can only see Alex’s back, but he’s pretty sure he has the same lovestruck on his face, when he brings one hand up to Willie’s cheek and kisses him. They’re sickeningly sweet and Reggie is just a bit jealous. Just a tiny bit. The couple pulls apart and Willie smiles again, then looks over Alex’s shoulder. “Hi Reggie!”  
He awkwardly lifts a hand in a little wave. “Hi.”  
Alex reaches back and takes Reggie’s hand, giving it a squeeze and pulls him inside with an apologetic look. As if Reggie could complain about Alex being happy and very well on his way to being properly in love, ever. He just feels a bit single and a bit sad about it at times because-  
“So you’re also here to fifth wheel?” a deep voice asks, tinged with amusement. Reggie nearly jumps out of his skin. He has not been prepared for Bobby to be here, but there he is, casually leaning against the reception counter, wearing a black shirt and those red suspenders he never seemed to lose and looking unfairly attractive. 

“Uh-” Reggie says. Alex turns to him with a mischievous glint in his eyes. Reggie shoots him a quick glare, because obviously everyone but him knew Bobby was going to be here.“I mean, I’m mainly here to get a tattoo, the fifth wheeling is just a side effect.”

He’s proud of the fact that that sentence makes some sense, and also that Bobby gives a quick laugh.  
“When Willie told me you’d all get them the same day I just couldn’t let you suffer alone, y’know?” Bobby says and pushes himself off the counter to bump his shoulder into Reggie’s. 

“Yeah, that’s the only reason,” Willie calls from a few feet away and both him and Alex snicker. Reggie does not understand what that’s supposed to mean.  
“How about you shut the fuck up, man?” Bobby hisses, and is he imagining things, or is that a slight blush that creeps up the other’s neck?  
He’s probably imagining things. Reggie realizes he’s been staring at Bobby for probably too long now and looks away. His gaze lands on his hands and suddenly he wishes he had actually redone his nail because the red nailpolish is chipped. He desperately wants to pick at them now.  
“Your septum looks nicely healed,” Bobby says, while the other four busy themselves giggling about something. Reggie looks up from his nails again, crimping his hands together to hide them from Bobby, and takes a second to register what he said, because Bobby is still standing very close to him, and he’s taller than Reggie and some of his hair falls into his eyes.  
“Yeah, I mean, I had a very good piercer do it, so I sure hope so,” he says, trying to put on the confident front he always has after gigs and when he’s not seriously flirting. He’s a pro at this, usually. Bobby raises a single eyebrow and smirks. “Is that so?” 

Impossibly, his voice sounds even deeper when he’s talking at a lower volume and Reggie can feel his cheeks go red. He still nods though, and keeps a confident smile plastered on his face. He’s always been a better actor than both Luke and Alex, and feigning confidence has gotten him into his friendship with them, so he can keep it up with Bobby. Who’s still looking at him, the smirk still in place, although it’s lost a bit of it’s teasing edge. Reggie almost physically struggles with pulling his eyes away, when Willie speaks up. “So, who wants to go first?”

The others are gathered a few feet away, all grinning knowingly, at what Reggie doesn’t really want to know. Alex stands beside Willie, an arm around his waist and Luke has his arms thrown over Julie’s shoulders and his chin resting on the top of her head. They look comfortable together, fitting, like pieces of a puzzle. Reggie glances at Bobby who has finally looked away, and wishes he had something like that as well.

None of them says anything for a moment, because while all the details are technically talked about, that’s still the unknown. Reggie knows that it definitely won’t be Alex, because while the basics of the tattoos were his ideas he’s still too nervous to actually go first.  
“Not me,” Alex says, and Willie presses closer into his side, as a reassuring gesture. Luke opens his mouth but Julie cuts him off during his starting breath. “I’ll go first.”

“Nice, Jules. Bobbert, are you just going to stand there and look pretty or will you actually help today?” Willie gives Julie an approving look and Alex exhales loudly, while Luke pouts. “I wanted to go first!”

“Should have said so, then, dipshit,” Alex says. Julie tilts her head up to look at Luke and gives him a very fond and exasperated look that she reserves only for him. “Both you and Reg already have tattoos, I just want to be able to give Lex a real answer to how bad it’s going to be.”  
“I could have done that!” Reggie protests now. Alex snorts. “Reg, our pain tolerance is very much not the same, because I remember you whining about that sprained ankle a lot more than me, even if we had the exact same injury.”

Luke barks a laugh at that and Willie turns to his boyfriend, brows raised. “Oh?” 

“Mine was hurt worse,” Reggie tries. Julie twists out of Luke’s grip, giggling. “No the fuck it wasn’t, you both got hurt the exact same way, as did I. Alex and I are closest in our pain tolerance, I’m going first.”  
“Hold on-” Bobby interrupts now, leaning forward, eyes flicking between all of them. “You all got hurt the exact same way?”

“Yeah, they did, because they’re all idiots,” Luke snorts. Reggie, Alex and Julie guffaw at the same time, turning to him.

“Only because you were already in a cast!” Reggie says first.  
Willie shakes his head, letting out an incredulous laugh. “You all got hurt the same way except Luke because he was already hurt?”

Alex, at least, has the decency to look somewhat embarrassed about the whole story, but Julie is already shouting “It was Reggie’s idea!”, while Reggie tries to be louder than her. “Julie suggested it!”

She turns to him, and Alex sighs. “No, Reginald, I did not. I remember, very clearly so, that you suggested we jump from the loft onto the couch at three in the fucking morning.”  
“You could have stopped me, or not jumped yourself?” he pushes back. There’s no real anger behind it, there never was, but they have this discussion pretty regularly.  
“Of course I was going to try myself after you did, and failed,” Julie steps up to him now. Reggie grins. “Wouldn’t that be the reason not to jump, though? Because _I_ remember, very clearly so, that I told you my ankle hurt.”

“Alex still jumped after me.” Julie turns to look at Alex who’s gone red, while Luke is laughing. Willie looks at all of them with fascination.

“Can we not do this now, maybe? We’ve got tattoos to get and-” Alex starts, trying to avoid what’s coming, but it’s Bobby who doesn’t give him the chance to. “So let me get this straight-”  
“You can’t, nobody here’s straight.” Reggie can’t stop himself from throwing that in, partly because he can never deny himself a good gay joke, and partly becuase he desperately wants Bobby to know he’s not straight. In case his flannels and the little bi flag pin on his leather jacket, and the pink, blue and purple bracelet Julie made him are not enough of an indicator. Bobby snorts, but pushes on. 

“So, you jumped from some loft onto a couch, and Reggie said his ankle hurt after going first, so Julie went after him, also got hurt and you still decided it was a good idea to pull the same stunt?” he swings around to Alex and Willie, shaking his head.

“Well, if you say it like that it sounds dumb,” Julie says, crossing her arms, but she looks amused. Bobby looks at her, once again raising a single eyebrow. “Are you trying to tell me it wasn’t?”

“Well,” Reggie starts, but honestly, yeah. The whole idea was stupid from the beginning. So he doesn’t say anything, just trails off. 

“Fucking hell,” Bobby says, shaking his head. “Please tell me at least one of you managed to land on the couch?”

“They didn’t,” Luke’s still laughing. “They all just landed really badly and every single one of those three idiot sprained their right ankle.”  
“May I remind you that you had your left arm in a cast because you decided it would be a good idea to skate down the ramp in the new skatepark by Julie’s house to impress her even though you'd never stepped on a skateboard before?” Alex asks, voice dry, even though his face is still red. Luke shuts right up. 

“Jesus Christ, y’all are a lively bunch, huh?” Bobby asks, leaning back against the counter. For a second Reggie fears that this is too much for the other guy, but then Bobby cracks a smile. “Sounds kind of fun, to be honest. All I have here is Willie, and the most he does is spill hot coffee on himself because of the barista across the street.”

“Bobby, shut your fuck,” Willie says, red spots appearing on his cheeks now, while Alex gapes at him. As if Willie’s crush had been subtle.

“Also yeah, of course I’m gonna help you idiot,” Bobby adds, and it takes Reggie a moment before he realizes this was related to Willie’s question from like, five minutes ago.

Willie smiles at that, still red in the face and avoiding Alex’s eyes. “Good, get chairs, we can’t have our beloved customers sitting on the floor.”

Bobby shoves off the counter and rolls his eyes, but moves across the open front of the parlour to the storage room, presumably.

“I feel like that was a jab at customers,” Luke says. Alex rolls his eyes. “Of course it was, Luke, customers fucking suck. I know that, Julie knows that, so you do too.”

“I’m just saying, tell your boyfriend to be more respectful.”

“Luke, I have no issue being customer service-Alex for an entire day if you don’t shut the fuck up,” Alex threatens. Luke pulls a face, while Julie lets out an exasperated breath and Reggie grins at her. If there’s one thing Luke really finds creepy it’s the way Alex can snap into this cheery, yet emotionless persona he uses at work.  
Especially since a dare, after which Alex spoke only in this persona to Luke, until he’d literally begged him to stop. It had been hilarious, but also really weird, to talk to Alex like he normally was, until Luke entered the room, upon which Alex plastered his smile on and started speaking a way too happy monotone.

“Okay, babe, calm down, I don’t want Luke to be too tense later,” Willie interjects, a wide and easy smile on his face as he pecks Alex on the cheek then holds out a hand to Julie. He wiggles his fingers and she takes it, following him into the biggest room the tattoo studio has, so most of them can fit inside. Luke and Alex set themselves in motion after him, but Reggie hangs back a bit. He’s not afraid of getting the tattoo, or making this decision because the design Willie came up with is absolutely amazing. But Bobby’s still rummaging around in the storage room, so. He steps closer to the open door, and hesitates for a split second before leaning in the doorway. “Need any help with that?” 

Bobby looks over his shoulder from where he’s struggling to disentangle a few chairs from each other and some cables. “I’m good, but thank you.”

“You sure?” Reggie asks, stepping forward a bit. “I’m pretty good at this kind of stuff, I’m always the one who takes care of little messes like this one back in our studio or when we have a gig.” 

Bobby musters him for a second, before stepping back. “So you do this a lot?”

“Well,” Reggie starts, already kneeling where the extension cables are wrapped around the chairs. “I don’t do this all the time, but at least a few times every month, so I’ve gotten pretty good at it.”

And he is. Bobby doesn’t even have time to speak up again, before Reggie is done. Pride floods him, and he turns around. “Tada!”. He’s grinning and yes, maybe it’s a little stupid to feel this proud at this small a task, but he likes being helpful, and he likes Bobby, and so helping Bobby is great.

Bobby stares at him, eyes fixed on Reggie’s face, before he flicks his gaze down to the freed stack of chairs. “I- uh. Thanks, Reggie.” he says, and clears his throat a little.  
“Yeah, sure!” he nods, the shuffles out of the small room because it gets too stuffed. Bobby picks up the chairs and sends Reggie another grateful look before maneuvering himself and them out of the small room. His shirt is pretty tight, Reggie realizes, as he watches the black fabric stretch a bit over Bobby’s biceps. It stretches over Bobby’s broad shoulders, too. Reggie can’t help but stare, and Bobby probably catches him, because he turns slightly, a small smile on his face. “You coming? You’ve got a tattoo to get.”

Reggie does have a tattoo to get, but first it’s Julie’s turn. The room might be big, but with six of them crammed inside it’s a tight fit, and they can really be thankful that Willie is Alex’s boyfriend as well as the most patient person on the planet, because any other tattoo artist would very probably not allow them all in at the same time.

Reggie settles next to Alex, who is bouncing his legs again, back against one wall, and Bobby chooses the chair right next to him. Luke is besides Julie, ready to hold her hand while Willie gets ready. He’s already applied the design to her skin, the inside of her left arm, right above the elbow, and she’s grinning. The way her free hand dances in phantom movements over a nonexistent keyboard gives away her nerves though.

All of them have these small ticks, which Reggie notices. He notices a lot of stuff about people, but particularly his best friends, because he spends so much time with them that he can’t help but pick up on stuff. With Alex it’s most obvious, he fiddles a lot, drums his fingers on his thighs or any surface he can find, really. But he has smaller signs that tell Reggie how bad it is. 

Julie often plays imaginary chords on the piano, or presses her lips together, the tips of her fingers shaking slightly. Luke flexes his fingers or balls his hands into fists, relaxes them, balls them back up or keeps twisting his ring.

He’s started noticing shifts in Willie’s behaviour too, the way he leans more into Alex when he gets nervous, or worms his fingers between Alex’s to keep him from picking at the seams of his clothes. How aware he is of all of them, but especially Alex’s moods, and how he himself gets uncomfortable in certain situations.

Reggie hasn’t had the time yet, to learn all the little things about Bobby’s behaviour, to understand him and to make sure he knows how to act when his mood shifts. He’d like to, though.

He reaches out for Alex, holding out an open hand and Alex grabs it, a small and thankful smile on his face. “I’m not nervous exactly, it’s just…” he trails off. Reggie tangles their fingers and gives a small squeeze. “A lot and a bit scary, I get it, Lexi.”

“Yeah,” Alex sighs, and holds his gaze for a moment before looking back to where Willie has just started actually tattooing Julie. She’s leaning back now, her brows drawn together and the hand that’s holding Luke’s has tightened, but she’s still smiling and looks extremely excited. Luke is talking to Willie, and they’re both grinning, and Julie joins in. It’s not that they’re too far away for Reggie to hear them, but he’s learned how to drown out noise, to filter it, basically, and he’s more focused on Alex next to him, tense with anticipation more than anxiety, and Bobby, of course.

“Is this not boring for you?” he asks, turning his head slightly. Bobby is also watching Willie, his hair pushed out of his face although a single strand has fallen back onto his forehead, taunting Reggie to just push it out of the way. His dark eyes dart over to Reggie, widened slightly in surprise. “Huh?”

“I mean, is it not boring for you to hang out here while you can’t actually do work? Just watching?” Reggie gnaws on his lower lip for a second, before stopping because it’s probably not something that makes him look more attractive. Bobby smiles slightly. “Ah, no. I admire Willie and how he works a lot, if I get the chance to watch him I’ll take it.”

Reggie nods in understanding. They may have different instruments, but he still likes watching Luke practice on both of his guitars a lot. He tells Bobby so and suddenly they’re discussing music and Luke and Julie offer their input as well. Reggie likes this, the easy way they incorporate Bobby into their conversations and he likes hearing the other laugh, even if his focus is still partially on Alex who is still nervous, despite his best attempts not to be.

Willie finishes on Julie, wraps the tattoo up and she can’t stop grinning as she and Alex switch places. 

“You okay?” Willie asks softly, while Alex shifts in front of him, Luke and Reggie lock eyes, a silent question which of them will take their place besides Alex now. Alex nods. “Yeah, yeah, I’m good.”

“It’s gonna be fine Lex, it’s not comfortable but also not that bad,” Julie says. She’s just finished sending a picture of the fresh tattoo to Ray and Flynn, Reggie assumes, but gives Alex a reassuring smile. He gets up. “Want me to hold your hand?”

“Yes, please,” Alex says, and Luke pats him on the shoulder and kisses the top of his head before switching places with Reggie, who settles into the chair next to Alex and immediately takes hold of his hand again. He watches as Willie, in low tones and soft smiles, talks Alex through everything he’s doing, prepares the skin and places the outline on the inside of his left arm, underneath the elbow. 

“We can still stop this if you’re unsure,” he says, finally, the machine in freshly gloved hands. Alex squeezes Reggies hand, then smiles. “No, I said I want a tattoo, and I want it, let’s do this.” 

Willie smiles, too, and nods and Reggie doesn’t miss the incredibly, almost painfully, fond look Willie gives Alex before setting to work. Alex’s hand clenches tighter around Reggie’s, as the needle pricks his skin, but after a few moments he relaxes. Willie tells them stories of his skateboarding and the tricks he’s done, but Reggie can tell they’re mostly for Alex. He catches Julie’s and Luke’s eyes over Willie’s shoulders, and they seem to be able to tell as well, because they smile softly. 

They like Willie, all of them do. He’s cool and relaxed and funny, and very pretty, but the real thing they like about him is how he treats Alex. Reggie and Alex have been friends since they were 8 years old and got seated next to each other in class, because Alex was always quiet and Reggie was always the opposite. They didn’t necessarily change in class, Reggie still too hyper to actually pay attention, and the words didn’t make sense anyway, and Alex already too anxious to speak up, but they clicked. Luke joined them a year later, and they became a perfect trio, getting into music at around the same time and forming Sunset Curve, until they’d met Julie after she’d transferred. And with Julie came Flynn, and Carrie and other friends and they were all great, but in the quieter moments in their lives it was still Alex and Reggie and Luke. 

Reggie sometimes thinks the three of them were destined to meet, and he knows he’d do anything to protect them, and Alex has… not had the best history with dating. The three guys Alex went out with before Willie were, well. One of them had tried to wedge himself between Alex and his friends, and broken up with him because he couldn’t get over the fact that they all liked to cuddle. The other one had not dealt well with Alex’s anxiety, at all. He’d taken it way too personally and yelled at Alex during one panic attack, after which they’d never spoken again. The third, and actually Alex’s first boyfriend was Luke. And Luke was a great guy, but their relationship had been based on childhood crushes and being the only queer people they knew, way before Reggie had figured himself out, so it had been a whopping three weeks before they decided to call it quits.

Reggie and Luke had scrutinized Willie a bit, when they realized Alex liked him. And they’d liked him, and his easy going mannerisms, and the way he joked with Alex. And the way he looked at him, when he didn’t think they were watching. This had only improved after they actually started dating. Willie dealt with Alex well, made him laugh and picked up on his moods incredibly quickly, and he liked them, too. He gave them the space they needed sometimes, but stills stayed within reach, and he always had a steadying hand ready for any of them, should they need it. So yeah, Willie was great, and they really liked him, and now, as he leans over Alex’s exposed arm while telling stories to soothe Alex this liking solidifies.

Reggie can’t help but wonder if the others would like Bobby, and take to him as quickly as they did to Willie. They seem to find him nice enough, right now, as they chat with him, Luke’s animated gestures suggesting it’s about music. But Reggie’s mind wanders, and he imagines them sitting together in the studio, all jamming out together with Willie watching from the couch and shouting compliments at Alex, and Bobby next to him, on his guitar and smiling at Reggie at certain lines from songs he thinks they fit them,

He pushes the thoughts away. That’s cheesy, and probably really unrealistic. Alex is entirely focused on Willie before him, and Reggie decides to join the conversation, if only to keep him occupied. The designs are small, cartoonish ghosts personalized with their instruments, Alex’s sporting a snapback and fanny pack, tiny drumsticks floating next to him, so it doesn’t take Willie all that long before he finishes. “All done Hotdog, let’s take a photo and wrap it up, yeah?”

Alex beams, and Reggie can’t help but join in. When the tattoo is all bandaged up, Alex lets go of Reggie’s hand, and leans forward. “Can I kiss you on the job?”

“Of course, boyfriend privileges do that for you,” Willie says, already leaning in. It’s a short kiss, a sweet one, and Alex whispers a “Thank you.” before Luke takes the spot, Julie trailing behind him. They settle in like before, Alex and Reggie against the wall, him in the middle, with Bobby to his left. Only Luke and Julie switch position, as Willie gets everything ready for the next tattoo.

“God, I wish someone would hold my hand,” Reggie says, jokingly, watching Julie hold Luke’s free hand and running her thumbs over his knuckles. He knows any of them would gladly do it when it’s finally his turn, but it’s not what he means. He’s just feeling extremely single right now, and he wants someone to hold his hand and tangle their fingers together and squeeze it when he needs a bit of reassurance. And he doesn’t want it from his friends.

“I can hold your hand,” Bobby says, suddenly, and Reggie chokes on his own spit. He notices, distantly, how Julie, Luke and Willie stop talking, their attention turned on him, but he’s currently very focused on the fact that Bobby Wilson just offered to hold his hand.

Without a doubt not in the way Reggie meant, but still. “Sorry?”

“I mean,” Bobby says, a waver Reggie has not heard before in his voice. “Just, when Willie works on you, you know? I mean, only if you’re comfortable with it.”

Bobby suddenly looks uncertain and pushes his hair out of his face, but he keeps his eyes locked with Reggie’s. Huh. So. Maybe Reggie can let himself dare to dream. “Dope,” he says, and grins, and yeah, that does seem like a tiny bit of a blush, seeping into Bobby’s cheeks. 

Reggie leans over to Bobby, giving him a conspiratorial grin. “This is just you trying to get a better look at Willie working, I’m onto you.”

He doesn’t mind, because no matter Bobby’s intent he’s still getting to hold his hand, for at least half an hour, so that’s a win in his book. Bobby shifts and tilts his head towards Reggies, mirroring his smile. It makes Reggie’s stomach feel hot and cold at the same time, and he tries his best no to stare at Bobby’s lips as he speaks. “My plan was actually getting to hold pretty a guy’s hand but that is also tempting.”

Reggies throat goes dry immediately and he has to look away from Bobby’s dark eyes for a second to catch his breath. “Uh,” he says, his voice cracking. Bobby’s eyes search his face, and fuck it, Reggie decides. He might be a bit thick sometimes, but he knows it when someone’s flirting with him. He’s not as bad as Alex.

So he flashes Bobby a smile and lifts his left hand up. “You can hold my hand now for practice, if you want,” he says, wiggling his fingers and praying that this is not him over-interpreting the situation. Bobby’s eyes settle on his hand and he bites his lip, and Reggie can smell his cologne, and then Bobby puts his right hand on Reggie’s and intertwines their fingers. 

“Why thank you, that’s very kind, Reg,” he says and rubs his thumb over the back of Reggie’s hand. Holy shit. Reggie can feel his cheeks grow hot, but Bobby’s neck is slightly red and he’s avoiding Reggie’s eyes now and has an absolutely adorable tiny smile playing over his lips, so he doesn’t say anything.

He wishes he hadn’t looked at his friends because all four of them are staring and grinning. Luke looks like he’s holding in an excited shout judging by the way he’s pressing his lips together and basically vibrating, until Julie slaps him on the arm lightly so Willie can continue his work. Alex clears his throat. “I’m grabbing a coffee, anyone want anything?”

Of course they do, so he takes their orders and flashes Reggie a not at all discreet thumbs up before leaving. Which means he’s now alone and holding Bobby’s hand. Well, not completely alone because Julie, Luke and Willie are still there, but they’re talking among themselves, so it is just them. Reggie tilts their joined hands from side to side and stops when he notices something. 

“So you too, huh?” he asks, and runs the pointer of his right hand over the thin black band on Bobby’s right middle finger. 

“Huh?” Bobby looks at him, eyebrows raised in surprise. Reggie taps on the ring again and smiles. “You’re ace as well?”

“Are- are you?” Bobby asks, looking a bit confused. Reggie can’t help but snort lightly. “Nah, I’m bi, but Willie is and little Lex had a crisis over being potentially ace before settling on grey-ace two years ago, so I know stuff.”

Bobby nods once and makes an understanding sound, before smiling. “So that’s not a problem for you?”

Reggie shakes his head and squeezes Bobby’s hand a bit. “Nope, us bi’s and aces gotta stick together.”  
Bobby lets out a laugh that sounds almost relieved and nods. “We sure do,” he says, and then he squeezes Reggie’s hand back, and keeps holding it. He keeps holding it while they talk, and Reggie invites him to their next gig. He keeps holding it while Luke basically jumps out of his seat to hug Willie and thank him, grinning like a maniac when his tattoo is done. He keeps holding it when Alex comes back, laden with their orders, and kisses Willie on the forehead and massages his shoulders, while complaining.  
“I work there when I’m wearing my company shirt, not when I’m behind the counter to give Mona a hand with the shelves because she’s tiny, and while waiting for the drinks. No, ma’am, I don’t care you’re in a hurry I’m not giving you the fucking croissant when my coworkers aren’t completely overwhelmed and will give it to you in ten seconds.”  
Willie chuckles and nods at that, and swivels in his chair until he can wrap his arms around Alex’s waist and rest his cheek against his boyfriends chest while Alex keeps on ranting.

Bobby doesn’t keep holding his hand while they all share the pastries and cake pops Alex brought with him, but then it’s finally Reggie’s turn and nobody follows Reggie to the chair, all of them grinning when Bobby looks at them expectantly.

“You promised our Regibald to hold his hand, fucking do it you coward,” Luke says.  
Bobby seems to blush a bit, again, but does settle down next to Reggie and tales his hand while Willie gets everything ready. Willie winks at both of them, before he starts tattooing. It’s not the most pleasant feeling ever, and actually quite painful at certain spots, but Reggie is very distracted by Bobby who has settled their hands in his lap and keeps rubbing soothing circles into the back of his hand. They actually plan on meeting sometime soon to play music together, and Bobby rambles about rock climbing and Alex Honnold for a good ten minutes before stopping himself and looking sheepish. “Sorry, I just think he’s really cool,” he says, rubbing the nape of his neck with his free hand.

Reggie could listen to him talk for hours, honestly. “You gotta take me climbing someday, man,” he says before he can stop himself. 

“I’m not sure that would be smart, sweetie, you’re very prone to accidents,” Julie pipes up. Willie agrees with a short laugh and a nod, almost finished with Reggie’s tattoo. Bobby contemplates for a second, and Reggie pulls out his ‘kicked puppy face’ as Alex calls it. “I mean, I can take you to an indoor wall. With mats and gear to catch you if you fall, so we can try.”

Reggie grins and sticks his tongue out at Julie while Luke just laughs. Alex sighs, deeply. “Reg, using your puppy face isn’t fair, nobody can say no to that. And if you break something I’ll kill the both of you.”

They all know he’s kidding, but Reggie still makes as much of a show out of pretending to be hurt as he can, without using both of his hands.

The tattoo looks awesome, and he can’t wait until it’s healed, and he doesn’t stop hugging Willie for a solid minute. The only downside to the session being over is letting go of Bobby’s hands, and they’re due to a family dinner at the Molina’s because Ray wanted to officially meet Willie (as if Willie hasn’t visited their studio that’s still in the garage of the Molina residence) and see all of their tattoos. THey finish up, Bobby stacks the chairs up again, and their excitement is palpable, all of them interrupting each other. It’s only when they’re outside of the parlor, when their ways are supposed to split, that Reggie decides to take another shot in the dark. 

Even though the dark he’s in regarding whether or not he might actually have a chance with Bobby is starting to light up slightly, like the dawning sky after a starless night of insecurity. The others have already said their goodbyes, but Reggie stays behind, looking at Bobby. “Hey, uhm- do you wanna drink with us? Not today, obviously, because Willie would rip our heads off if we drank so soon after getting the tattoos, but next weekend maybe?”

Bobby looks caught off guard, but a beautiful smile spreads over his face, like the sun peeking over the horizon and painting the grey sky in vibrant colours. Reggie forgets to breathe for a moment. “I’d love that,” Bobby says softly. 

Reggie grins, and nods. “I’ll text you, yeah?”  
Bobby nods, and Reggie darts forward, kissing him on the cheek before running after his friends. And maybe he’s running away as well, but Luke catches him and immediately slings an arm over his shoulders. “Nicely done, Eggbert, and then you had to flee,” he tries to ruffle Reggie’s hair, but he ducks out of the way. “Fuck off, Lucky Charms.”

He’s giddy inside though, and dares to turn back to look at Bobby only once, who’s still standing where he left him, cradling the cheek Reggie just kissed.

___

A week later Reggie is sitting on the kitchen island of the apartment he shares with his friends, looking into the open room while Bobby leans on it next to him. They’ve been texting basically all week, and Bobby has invited him to come climbing with him soon, and Reggie’s so excited he hasn’t stopped talking about it since then. He’s also been getting very into rock climbing videos, and finds them very interesting, even if he didn’t breathe basically the entire time while watching ‘Free Solo’ with the guys on Thursday. Alex had looked close to passing out the whole time.

Alex is now dealing with Willie, who’s almost as bad as Luke when he’s drunk. Which is hilarious. “You know,” Bobby says, voice deep but soft, a lazy smile on his lips “I always thought you couldn’t get worse than Willie. And here we are.”

“Here we are,” Reggie echoes. They forgot to keep an eye on Luke for once second so he’d taken a shot of Alex’s vodka, and a second, and now he’s sitting on the couch and hugging Julie, blabbering something inaudible into her shoulder, and possibly crying. “Luke can have one cocktail or one shot or three glasses of wine, and after that he’s useless,” Reggie explains. Bobby snorts, taking a sip of his Fireball. He’s not as stone faced as Flynn is, but then again Flynn isn’t beatable when it comes to drinking, so Reggie’s still extremely impressed. Reggie himself is sipping on his fourth Piña Colada of the night, and feeling very pleasantly buzzed, while not being too drunk. Julie’s had the same amount, but she’s very giggly and talking to Flynn. 

“Willie can have a maximum of two cocktails, before he gets like this, but at least Alex likes him enough to deal with it,” Bobby says, gesturing to the couple. Reggie nods, they’ve seen Willie get drunk two times before, and it’s hilarious. He gets very clingy, and had cried just three weeks ago, when Alex had made the run to the corner shop to get some more beer.

Right now the both of them are sitting on the other side of their couch, and Willie has wrapped himself around Alex basically completely, not unlike a koala, while Alex keeps chatting with Carrie, who’s curled up next to her girlfriend. Flynn and Alex are the most impressive people when it comes to drinking, and he mentions it to Bobby.

“Yeah, I never would’ve guessed it looking at him,” Bobby agrees. Reggie takes a long sip through his bendy straw and watches Alex knock back his glass of vodka and coke. “It’s that sweet anxiety override.”

“Makes sense. So you’re only a cocktail guy?” Bobby turns to him now, his dark brown eyes settling on Reggie in a way that makes all the tingly heat rush into his face. He averts his gaze, staring down into his pale yellow cocktail. “Well, yeah, I like my drinks fizzy and sweet, but I won’t say no to a Tequila Slammer or just straight Tequila.”

Bobby wrinkles his face, which Reggie finds hilarious because Bobby has done nothing but shots all evening, apart from the first beer Alex shared with him. “All the sweet drinks, and the fucking Tequila. You’re an enigma, you know that?”

“And you like Fireball and not Tequila, so that makes you better?” Reggie leans towards Bobby now, the alcohol buzzing through his veins and the smile on Bobby’s lips making him brave. Bobby tilts his head up a bit, and suddenly they’re close. So close. Reggie can smell the whiskey on Bobby’s breath, and suddenly wishes he’d decided on Mojitos or the Bailey’s Mint Martini they sometimes make instead of sugary sweet Piña Coladas.

“I didn’t say it was a negative thing, now, did I?” Bobby asks, and his voice drops lower, and his eyes are definitely on Reggie’s lips. A quick look at the room tells Reggie that nobody’s watching them right now. “Can I kiss you?” he asks, whispers, really, and feels his stomach drop in anticipation. Bobby leans forwards instead of answering and presses their lips together, softly. Reggie leans into it, before a loud whistle makes him jump. 

It’s Alex, of course it’s Alex, the sober looking asshole, and the only one who can whistle as sharply as he does. He’s grinning like a madman, a hand in Willie’s hair. Luke has looked up from Julie’s shoulder and looks confused, and all the others are grinning as well. Carrie gives them a thumbs up.

“Get your ass into Reggie’s room for some privacy, dumbass, I don’t want to see that shit,” she says, but there’s fondness in her voice. Bobby throws his middle finger up at her. “I have to watch you and Flynn kiss all the time,” he says, but he’s grinning.

“Only because you’re scared Flynn will kill you if you don’t let your sister kiss her,” Willie chimes in, muffled by the fact that he still has his face pressed into Alex’s chest.

“I hate you all,” Bobby informs them, then turns to Reggie, who’s still kind of reeling from being kissed. Bobby downs the rest of his glass. Reggie puts his own aside and jumps from the island, taking Bobby’s hand. “C’mon.”

Bobby doesn’t even have time to protest, before Reggie is pulling him to his room, ignoring his- their? friends hackling. He closes the door behind them, then turns to Bobby.

“Two things, I’m sorry about them, and please let me kiss you again,” he says. Bobby grins, and steps closer, still a bit taller than Reggie so he has to look up a bit, as Bobby places his hands on his face, cupping it. “Gladly,” he says, leaning in.

Reggie basically melts into his touch, and settles his left hand on Bobby’s waist, his right curling around the nape of his neck, pulling them closer together. They both break off, and Reggie takes a deep breath, giggling. “Imagine how much earlier we could have had this if Carrie had brought you over sooner.”

He leans their foreheads together, and presses a kiss to the tip of Bobby’s nose. “You’re way too cute, do you know that?” Bobby’s voice cracks a tiny bit and Reggie kisses his nose again, satisfaction rushing through him when Bobby blushes. 

“Sucks to be you then, Bobman.”

Bobby snorts and shakes his head softly, kissing Reggie’s nose in return, thumbs rubbing over his cheeks softly. “No, it really doesn’t.”

**Author's Note:**

> I have developed a special interest in bouldering and rock climbing in the past few weeks so thats fun  
> also reggie is not, in any way shape or form, more competent in recognizing when someone's flirting with him, bobby has been trying for months  
> i love them, your honor  
> if you feel like talking/yelling, about jatp or in just general, you can find me on tumblr as [on-irratia](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/on-irratia)  
> have a good day/ night/ rest of time! :D


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